IFEAT chairman Alastair Hitchen has announced the new location for the IFEAT 2008 Congress. According to Hitchen, "the recent cancellation of the projected Congress in Dubai has left IFEAT in a particularly difficult scheduling situation. Bringing forward a preliminary proposal for a Congress intended for 2008 in Montreal, Canada has proven to be our best option." However, due to the extremely short time horizon there weren't many dates from which to choose. Constrained by the possibility of inhospitable weather towards the end of October, IFEAT booked the period of Sept. 28 through Oct. 2. Unfortunately, this time coincides with Rosh Hashanah (Sept. 30–Oct. 1), the last days of Ramadan (Oct. 2) and China’s National Day (Oct. 1). Of the chosen dates, Hitchen said, "The IFEAT Executive Committee extends our sincere apologies to those who will, as a result, be unable to attend this conference."